How to play: Golf solitaire

The solitaire game Golf is so-called as it is loosely based on the idea of playing a certain number of "rounds".

Layout

The tableau consists of five columns of seven cards. All cards are dealt face-up, as in the illustration below.

The remaining cards are dealt on to a stock pile next to the tableau. During the game, a single foundation pile will also be built up, above the stock pile. In Solitaire Whizz, the (initially empty) foundation appears above the stock pile.

Golf solitaire layout in Solitaire Whizz for iPad

Aim

The aim of the game is to play all of the cards from the tableau on to the foundation pile.

Gameplay

The first step of play is to start a new "round". To do so, double-tap the stock pile. The top card will be moved on to the foundation. The remainder of this "round" now consists of trying to follow this initial card with further cards from the tableau.

The bottom card of each column is available for play. A card can be played on to the foundation if its rank is either one lower or one higher than the current top card. In the commonly-played version included in Solitaire Whizz, you cannot 'wrap round' and build a King on to an Ace. Building a King on to the foundation ends the round. Otherwise, the round ends when you can no longer build any more cards from the tableau on to the foundation.

Once the current round is over (either by building a King on to the foundation, or by there not being any more moves available), you must start another round by double-tapping the top card on the stock pile.

Note that it is not infrequent for no moves at all to be possible from the tableau in a given round.

Odds of winning

To win a game of Golf solitaire requires a large amount of luck in addition to a little strategic playing. If you play wisely, you can expect to win in the order of 1% of games.